Funny how surfing can take you down unexpected paths. If you just let your mouse lead you, following links can be ... it's a little like Alice following the white rabbit down the rabbit hole. Who knows where you'll end up.
This morning my rambles took me to the Fitzwilliam Museum where they have this beautiful Wedgwood teapot from the late 1700's. It's identified as Queensware from the late 1770s, named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, who had ordered a tea set made from this same material in the 1760s. That Charlotte, she sure had good taste.
S'wenyway, jump from museum-piece Wedgewood to outrageously expensive Yi Xing. This 18th century dragon-shaped Yi Xing pottery teapot, "laminated with silver and ceramic plates", is apparently one of the few pieces existing today that mixes western ceramic painting and Yi Xing pottery. Asking price $18,000.00.
I wish I had the kind of money that I could purchase a teapot for the price of a small car. Cripes. For po-fok like me, seriously out of the question. If I was rich though, collecting teapots would probably be something I'd do. What a fun hobby that would be. Let the hubs collect cars or techno-toys, I'd collect china and pottery and jade.
*sigh* Dreaming, dreaming...
Well. Anyway. Speaking of jade, here's a teapot I could probably afford. It's only $325, but then, it's not claiming to be ancient, or even antique. This is the Jade Fire Dragon teapot from Holy Mountain Trading Company. I love the shape of this dragon much better than the other one. Isn't it pretty?
If you love teapots, check these links:
i really like that wedgewood teapot looks beautiful, i use all my teapots either chinese or western both for asian teas if i have seen now at least in asia now that alot of the european companies are even making some teapots smaller like around 400cc very different then the standard 800 to 1000cc pots. the smaller pots are better for gongfu tea brewing style.....if you know any english-speaking groups or people that would like to learn about tea or see some tea ceremonies, we do them often, but we do them for Taiwanese. I think it would be great to let the foreingnors in on this as well...I am an american in taiwan, (for 17 years) named Steven. I am part of several tea culture groups, non-profit and educational. We do tea ceremonies (no cost) for cultural exchange. I have translated tea ceremonies before for children and adults, and if you have any foreign groups come to taiwan we would be happy to share and perform a tea ceremony with chinese/english translations....
中文英文翻譯:
Tea Lore - 茶學識
Tea Arts - 茶藝
Tea Lore, Tea Arts, Tea Culture, Incense Lore, and other classic Asian
Arts
my main block
http://teaarts.blogspot.com/
Thank you,
Steven
Posted by: icetea | January 19, 2007 at 11:56 AM